The Inescapable Inferno
by Gamemaker97
Summary: The schism that divides V.F.D. rages on, and the Baudelaires find themselves thrown into more trouble than ever before. Now apprenticed to V.F.D., Violet and Klaus do their part to try and turn the tables in the Volunteers' favour while continuing the quest for their lost mother. A tale of love, adventure, mystery and three rather familiar triplets. AU.
1. Chapter One

**(Serious) Author's Note: This is the third story in _A Series of Alternate Events_, so most of this won't make sense unless you've read the first two stories in the series, 'The Sinister Schism' and 'The Frightening Fortress'. I'll mention again that this story uses a Snicket-style narrator who is not actually Lemony Snicket. Lemony Snicket the character feature heavily in this story, so using him as a narrator too would just get confusing.**

**I'd like to mention this story has an introduction based on the opening paragraphs written by Daniel Handler for 'The Miserable Mill', and that the three stories quoted (in order) are J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone', Suzanne Collins' 'The Hunger Games' and Philip Reeve's 'Mortal Engines' a series from which the inspiration for several characters in this series has come from.**

**With all of that sorted, I hope you enjoy the story :)**

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_(Fictional) Author's Note: Dear reader,_

_I hate to inform you that you are reading a most unpleasant story, but I have ensure that you know that to be true. The Baudelaire children are in no way unpleasant themselves, and are in fact bright, charming children, but they seem to have a tendency for finding themselves in the most unpleasant and unfortunate of circumstances._

_Within the words of this story, the Baudelaires will face such unpleasantries as a terrible fire, a run-down helicopter, an incomplete autobiography, a transparent disguise and heavy rain._

_I understand how this tale may not be suited to every reader, so please feel free to leave this story and read something more pleasant, if you feel so inclined._

_With all due respect,_

_A.T._

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**Chapter One**

I have often heard that the first sentence of a story can often be taken to accurately reflect the narrative contained within the novel. However, this is not always the case, and even if it is, it rarely tells the whole story.

For instance, the sentence "Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much" would suggest that the story may contain something extraordinary happening to someone completely unaware of their circumstance, but that in fact is only half the story.

Other opening sentences give away almost nothing of the plot to a story, such as the sentence "When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold." It may suggest loneliness or hardship, but really little is given away about the epic (and, indeed, harrowing) story told within the book.

Other stories begin with almost too much information, as though to intrigue the reader. For example the sentence "It was a cold, blustery day in spring, and the Traction City of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-up bed of the old north sea" appears to be quite revealing, but actually gives away almost nothing about the tale of action, adventure, morality and love that still keeps me awake at night if I recall its events too late in the evening, even though it is several years since I first read such a gripping tale.

But this story begins with a sentence that does none of these things. In fact, the opening sentence of this novel is "Lemony Snicket was grieving", and it gives far more away about the nature of this story than any of the sentences quoted above. It is a simple sentence, but it has stylistic consistency with the rest of this novel, a phrase which can be used in this context to describe how the opening sentence of _The Inescapable Inferno_ sets the stage for the events that follow almost perfectly.

I'm sorry to tell you of the melancholy nature of this tale, but that is how the story goes.

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Lemony Snicket was grieving.

He was behind the wheel of his small car as it trundled along through the dusty roads of the Hinterlands in the morning sun. The Hinterlands was a dry, barren place, with seemingly infinite flat, dusty land stretching out in all directions. In the summer, the heat haze rose over the baking hot ground, making the landscape almost seem like an illusion. But it wasn't the summer, and now that summer was long gone all Lemony could see through the dust-covered windscreen of his car was a vast, flat nothingness. Often such a eventless landscape would be seen as a source of boredom, but for the man of forty-two behind the driving wheel, it served as no distraction from his inner turmoil.

For behind him the back of his small car sat three children, recent associates of his. Klaus Baudelaire, the youngest of the three, sat on the left, gazing out of the window at the endless landscape of the Hinterlands. Being a well-read boy of twelve, he knew all about the desolate place that he had found himself travelling through on this cold morning in late October. He knew of the complete inhospitability of the Hinterlands and of the legendary blue Hinterlands sunsets that drew tourists to the region from all around.

Klaus' elder sister Violet Baudelaire, who sat looking out of the window on the opposite side of the small car, also had a great deal of knowledge concerning the Hinterlands, although she had gained this through her experiences rather than through research. The memories of that summer were still clear in her mind, when Klaus and herself had found themselves negotiating the Hinterlands on foot not once but twice. She knew of the unending horizons, the dusty, lifeless ground and the almost unbearable heat that July would bring to the desert. They were memories that did not sit well in the mind of the eldest of the three Baudelaire siblings, as they are so strongly associated with the beginning of the struggle that had led Violet to be in the back of Lemony Snicket's car just three months later.

Having had me mention that there are indeed three Baudelaire siblings, I'm sure you would be surprised when I tell you that the person sitting between Violet and Klaus Baudelaire was not their younger sister. Instead it was a young man of almost sixteen called Arlo Thursday, an apprentice member of an organisation known as the Volunteer Fire Department, and of whom Violet Baudelaire was particularly fond. Like Violet Baudelaire, he was very interested in inventing things, and Arlo had spent his childhood building rather dangerous flying contraptions, in the Verdant Valley, where his father worked for V.F.D., as it shall be called hereon in. It was no surprise to anyone that Arlo and Violet got on like a house on fire when the two elder Baudelaire siblings arrived at the V.F.D. base in the Verdant Valley.

The car journey was long as the day wore on, and it was a car journey that would seem odd to anyone who had somehow gotten inside the car with the four passengers on that lonely road. I'm sure that most of you have been on a long car journey yourselves, and you will know that there are times when the car is full of conversation, and there are times when the car falls quiet. However, nobody spoke at all on the long journey north, as each passenger was wrapped up within their own problems.

Klaus, who'd had a few troubled months since the terrible fire that had destroyed his home, wondered if his father's condition would have improved in the month since he last saw him, as Klaus had been away on a mission for V.F.D. with Lemony, Arlo and Violet. His father had been injured in the summer in an altercation with a despicable man named Count Olaf. Olaf was an aging man who had once been a member of V.F.D. himself, but defected to become part of a separatist group known as the fire-starting side, or the Firestarters, who have been waging a war against the volunteers of V.F.D. for decades.

Violet wondered whether her mother and sister were unharmed, having been captured by Olaf not once but twice over the course of the summer. She had only found out that her parents had been a part of the schism that split V.F.D. when she was dragged into it herself, only to find herself separated from her parents before her family's biggest secret could be fully explained. Having been held hostage by the Firestarters in Bladeridge Castle, demanding a ransom for their release, Violet and Klaus had joined Arlo, Lemony and his elder brother Jacques in a mission to rescue them. It had taken weeks to put together, and for a few moments her mother and her younger sister Sunny had been in their custody, but the mission at Bladeridge Castle had ended in tragedy, and the Firestarters had managed to escape with Beatrice and Sunny. It had taken months to put their plan into action, and Violet wasn't sure how long it would take for the volunteers to find her mother and sister again, and how long Count Olaf's patience would last before he resorts to violence to get his ransom.

Arlo, who was sitting between the two Baudelaire siblings, was in a tough situation. For everyone else in the car, there was a personal connection that made them determined to play a part in the ill-fated rescue mission. For Arlo, there was only a desire to complete his role as an apprentice to Lemony Snicket, one of V.F.D.'s most valuable and longest-serving agents. However, the melancholy atmosphere in the car that day had infected Arlo, too. He'd be the first to admit that part of it was that he didn't want to accept that he had failed on his very first mission for the volunteers. he felt as though he had let himself down. More than that, he felt as though he had failed everyone, especially Violet, who he cared for more than he would often like to admit. It saddened him that she was in such a troubled state, staring out of the window into the nothingness of the Hinterlands, lost in her thoughts.

In the front of the car, Lemony was alone, concentrating more on his emotions that his driving on the straight, flat road that now ran parallel to the Stricken Stream, which was the main waterway through the Hinterlands. Over time, the road meandered to and from the side of the road, and it served as yet another constant in the journey, as Lemony's journey would end at the beginning of the Stricken Stream's journey, high in the Mortmain Mountains. A lot of debate could be caused by arguing over who the most distressed passenger was in the car that afternoon, but I'd argue Lemony's case. Not only was one of his oldest and dearest friends, Beatrice Baudelaire, once again in the hands of the despicable Firestarters, but the attempt to free her had cost the life of his elder brother, Jacques. As the car trundled along the rough road, Lemony quietly paid his respects to his brother, to the life that he'd had and its untimely end at the hands of Count Olaf, just twenty-four hours before.

But life goes on, and by the time that the sun began to sink low over the Hinterlands, Lemony was back to himself. At least, he tried to convince himself that he was. But on the way through the Hinterlands to the V.F.D. Headquarters in the Mortmain Mountains, he had one more thing on his mind, that had been troubling him somewhat since the day that he had first travelled to Bladeridge Castle with his apprentice, his late brother and the two Baudelaire children.

Violet only noticed the change in direction when the small car passed a large wooden sign. It was badly burnt, with only the smallest of traces of the bright paint that once covered it present. Looking past the charred sign, Violet could see a sight even more sad, where the burnt remains of whatever had once stood here covered the ground. Lemony stopped the car and all four passengers stepped outside into the crisp evening air, as the sky gained its first tinge of blue as the night drew in. Violet noticed that the ground was scattered with ashes, a few pieces of charred wood standing here and there, and an eerie metal structure further away, twisted beyond recognition by the heat of the flames that had once been here. Violet and Arlo, who stood hand in hand surveying the wreckage of what may have once been a great sight, had to cover their eyes and mouth with the high collars of their coats when the wind picked up, spraying dust and ash in their faces, causing them to cough.

Lemony trudged slowly through the ashes, looking down at his feet, occasionally squatting to pick up some object that had survived the blaze with varying degrees of success.

"The fire that burned all this down must have been massive," Klaus deduced, walking behind Lemony, although he knew what "all this" was just as much as his sister did. "There are still embers in places." Lemony merely nodded and walked on through the wreckage, becoming more and more desperate to find whatever it was that he was looking for. Eventually he reached a mound of burnt wood sticking out of the remains and sat down on them, the wood crumbling slightly beneath his weight.

"Caligari Carnival," he said to the Baudelaires, gesturing to the ruins around them.

"What was this place?" Violet asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable in the remains. She had never known this place, but the sight of the effects of fire on such a large scale reminded of of the morning that her home burned, and the trauma that it caused her. _How many people must have been here?_ she thought. _The people who were here have suffered as much as me._

"As its name suggests, it was a carnival," Lemony replied, smiling sadly. "I knew the woman who run the place once," he continued. "Olivia Caliban, her name was. A good volunteer, by all accounts."

Violet and Klaus nodded enthusiastically. They had seen Mrs. Caliban at the V.F.D. Headquarters just a couple of months before. "What happened to her?" Klaus asked after a pause.

"She died," Lemony said grimly. "When all this burned down. She posed here as a fortune-teller, under the name of Madame Lulu."

"Why was she here?" Arlo asked.

"Because she owned the carnival. In its day it was quite popular, but it had fallen on hard times in the last few years. Because of this and its remote location all the way out here, it was a perfect location for V.F.D. to make use of."

"And that's why we're here?" Arlo asked. "Because there is something of importance to the volunteers here?"

"Yes," Lemony replied sadly. "Although it would be of equal importance to the Firestarters. I am certain that this fire was their handiwork." Lemony sighed, looking around at the dismal remains, ashes lingering the blue evening air. The evening was getting colder, and Violet had to reach into her pockets to pull on some gloves, letting go of Arlo's reassuring grasp for just a moment.

"There is nothing left here," Lemony said. "I can only hope that it was destroyed in the fire. If the Firestarters were to have it, it could alter the balance of the schism." Lemony paused again, as if he was finally admitting a difficult truth. "These are dark days for V.F.D.," he said slowly after a long pause, the three young volunteers around him hanging onto his every word in the twilight. "Our enemies are growing in numbers. Our safe havens are falling to the dastardly deeds of the Firestarters, who will reach new lows to get one over on us. V.F.D. is supposed to be a noble organisation, but with every treacherous act committed by the Firestarters, more of our members feel ready to retaliate. But 'retaliate', I mean-"

"To use the tactics of the Firefighters against them," Arlo finished. After spending a couple of months in close company with his chaperone, he was starting to pick up on a few of Lemony's quirks of personality. "To fight fire with fire, so to speak."

"Unfortunately, quite a few of our number would like to take that expression literally rather than figuratively." Lemony said sadly, turning his hat over in his hands. "In my youth, i was considered to be far more radical than the other volunteers, and although my approach hasn't changed through the years, I am now one of the more pensive members of our organisation. 'Pensive' is a word which here means 'thoughtful'."

"More and more of us our willing to react," Arlo said, confirming Lemony's fears. "I noticed it in the Mortmain Mountains this autumn. Many of our members are ready to retaliate."

"We need to bring back the old guard," Lemony said. "My sister Kit and I. The Denouements. Your parents, Baudelaires. Peter Quaqmire and Dr. Montgomery. Your mother, Arlo."

At this, Arlo flinched, as he was not yet used to discussing his mother. She had died when he was young, fighting for V.F.D. His father had never told him how she had died, and Arlo did not want to find out. He hated when the older members of V.F.D. said that he reminded them of her. He meant no disrespect to his dead mother, but he wanted to be his own person, not a character defined by the loss of his mother and a quest for answers he would likely never get. So he had shuttered off that part of his life completely and tried to carve his own future as Arlo Thursday the inventor.

"I know that it still troubles you, Arlo," Lemony said carefully. "But she was a brilliant volunteer, and a great friend of mine, at one time. We were unfortunate to lose her." After that, the conversation reached an awkward pause, which Lemony eventually ended himself.

"Sitting here isn't going to serve much more purpose," he said with a tone of authority. "I'm too tired to travel on through the dark, so we'll sleep here for the night. Help me get the tents from the back of the car."

With that, Lemony stood up and walked back toward his small car, with Klaus and Arlo following him through the twilight. However Violet stayed where she was standing, worried that Lemony's words were actually true. After all she had been through, could there be darker days lying ahead? Really, she didn't want to think about it, but she knew that she would have to embrace the future, whether she liked it or not. However, it seemed to her that the fortune of V.F.D. had taken a turn for the worse since the Baudelaires became involved in the schism that split the once-noble organisation once more.

For the first time, Violet wondered if the Baudelaires caused more trouble than they were worth.

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**(Serious) Author's Note: And so ends Chapter One! I hope that you all enjoyed it :) Regardless of what you actually made of the chapter, I'd love to get feedback via review, and I'm not afraid to receive constructive criticism :)**

**I'm hoping to post Chapter Two within the next two or three days :)**


	2. Chapter Two

**(Serious) Author's Note: Thanks to Coral Tawnies and koryandrs for reviewing the last chapter! :)**

**Also, I apologise for the recent lack of chapters, as I've been busy with other fanfiction projects. I'm hoping to return to regular updates for this series soon.**

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**Chapter Two**

Violet was tired.

It has been early in the morning when Arlo had dragged her out of bed, saying that Lemony had planned another hard day's travelling for the four volunteers. Begrudgingly, Violet had risen early along with her brother at dawn, and they were on their way north not long after.

Lemony seemed slightly less self-concerned that morning, and was making open conversation as the land started to slope upwards, the Hinterlands disappearing behind the car as it made its way higher towards the Mortmain Mountains, where the V.F.D. Headquarters were located. By the end of October, the slopes of even the lowest peaks in the mountain range were capped in snow that glistened brightly in the morning sun as the car began its journey through the mountains. At times the narrow road that they were travelling on wound its way close to the Stricken Stream which ran along the base of a steep valley within the mountains.

This reminded Violet of the first time she had made the journey to the Mortmain Mountains, which was a perilous journey completed on foot with Klaus and Arlo during the summer. Looking down at the icy valley beneath the car, she was glad that she had made the journey in August, and not during the winter. She reasoned that with the roads being so dangerous in the middle of autumn, this road would be almost unpassable during winter. With little to do on a long car journey, Violet tied up her long black hair with a ribbon out of her coat pocket, as she often did when thinking of inventions. At this time, she was trying to think of a way of keeping the road safe for travel during the winter months.

Arlo, like Violet, had never seen the mountains under snow before, but he saw it as a blessing not a curse, a phrase which can be used to describe how he only saw the enjoyment that the snow-covered peaks would bring. Arlo was a fan of extreme sports, and no adrenaline junkie would turn down a chance to go snowboarding in the Mortmains.

However Klaus saw the new snow as neither a blessing nor a curse, merely a source of interest. He made a note to himself that he would find out more about the climate of the Mortmain Mountians once he arrived at the Headquarters, which has an extensive library that he liked to use to conduct his research. Now that the Headquarters was sort of an adoptive home of his, Klaus thought that the yearly climate might become one of the most important things to him, as it would be something that he would need to adapt to. Even in the middle of winter, the city where Klaus had lived before his parent's home had burned down had never seen a snowfall as bad as the Mortmain Mountains in October.

But Lemony did not seem concerned by the snow. It was as though he'd seen it a hundred times before (and honestly, he had), and he knew how to control his small car expertly in the difficult conditions.

The journey passed slowly, and the morning turned into afternoon, and the afternoon turned to evening, and the evening turned into twilight as the small car finally arrived in the Valley of Four Draughts.

I'm sure that at some point in your life, you have found yourself looking at a view that always takes your breath away, no matter what the situation, whether this be something hideous such as your friend's obscure sense of fashion, or something beautiful such as the Grand Canyon. The Valley of Four Draughts is one of those few rare sights that always causes those who are lucky enough to witness it to draw breath and admire the view. The Baudelaires were quick to learn this on that day in late October. When they had first arrived in the Valley of Four Draughts that summer the view had been spectacular, but beneath the snow, the Baudelaires thought that the remote valley looked more stunning than ever.

The Valley of Four Draughts was large, wide and predominantly flat, with the once dusty ground now covered in a few inches of untouched snow. The pristine flat landscape extended out in front of the four volunteers for roughly half a mile, interrupted only by a lake at the base of Mount Fraught, the highest peak in the Mortmain Mountains, at the other end of the valley. Extending upwards from the frozen lake was a shining, icy structure that Klaus knew to be a waterfall leading down the steep slopes of Mount Fraught from the source of the Stricken Stream, which was frozen solid in the Mortmain Mountains' cold climate at this time of the year. For Klaus, this slippery slope was arguably the most beautiful part of this idyllic landscape. Violet was also staring towards the waterfall, but was more interested in what lay at its base than the waterway itself. Violet knew that on the far shore of the frozen lake was the V.F.D. Headquarters, a magnificent building hidden from view by a low, thick mist. In the summer months, the spray from the falling water kept the Headquarters' location elusive, and Violet had heard of the device created by the volunteers to turn the frozen lake water into spray to conceal the V.F.D. Headquarters. However, until that day, Violet was yet to see the fabulous machine in action. Violet hoped that during her second stay in the Mortmain Mountains she would be able to examine the device herself.

"Well, we can't afford to wait around much longer," Lemony said eventually, watching the three young volunteers as they admired the spectacular view that lay across the landscape in front of them. "I know it's beautiful, but we're not leaving it behind, you know."

It took another ten minutes of careful driving for Lemony to navigate his small car across the snow-covered valley before the four volunteers finally arrived at the V.F.D. Headquarters after over two days of travelling. After their long journey, Violet had expected more of a welcome home, but then she remembered that Lemony had not yet informed the volunteers of V.F.D. that their fateful mission had been unsuccessful, and so no-one was awaiting their return. It felt strange to walk down the quiet corridors that evening until the four volunteers stumbled across a tall, gangly man with skinny arms, who Klaus recognised as Dewey Denouement, an important V.F.D. member of around Lemony's age who always seemed to be involved with "important business". He seemed surprised to see the four of them back in the Mortmain Mountains, but he also smiled, suggesting to the returning volunteers that he was pleased that they had returned, which reassured them.

"Ah, Lemony!" he exclaimed upon seeing the four volunteers. "We weren't expecting you back so soon! Has business been concluded at Bladeridge Castle already?"

"Yes, our job is done there," Lemony replied gravely, and Dewey's smile slipped slightly. "Olaf escaped with Beatrice and Sunny."

"Oh," Dewey said, his face full of pity for the downtrodden Lemony, although of course he didn't know the true cause of Lemony's despair. "Where is Jacques? Did you meet him at the castle?"

"Yes, we met him," Lemony replied, and even Violet could see that it was hurting him to continue the conversation. "We met him, but he is no longer with us. I'll explain more once I've had chance to get a drink and put my feet up for a moment. We've been travelling all day."

"Ah, of course!" Dewey said, smiling once more at the four volunteers. "You'd better all follow me this way."

"Dewey, if you don't mind, I'd rather the children left us alone for a few minutes," Lenony said, protesting. "There's a few things I need to talk through with you concerning the mission." Dewey nodded assent, and Lemony turned to the children. "You'd better run back to the dorms," Lemony advised them. "You may as well take the chance to settle back in."

Violet and Klaus saw little of Lemony and the other volunteers that evening, except for the other trainees with whom they shared dormitories as they spent the evening reacquainting themselves with their surroundings. It was there in the Headquarters where Violet and Klaus were completing their first stage of V.F.D. Training, and learning the vital skills needed to become a useful volunteer. Along with their vital skills, both Baudelaire siblings were taught in one area of interest by an elder volunteers, and so both were able to hone their respective skills in inventing and researching during their time in the Mortmain Mountains.

There would be no learning that evening as the Baudelaire children settled back in, and so both Violet and Klaus paid a visit to their father, who was still recovering from the harpoon injury sustained that summer at the hands of one of Count Olaf's vile associates. They were pleased to see that his condition was improving, and that he was no longer bed-ridden, although Bertrand Baudelaire still had difficulties when travelling around the Headquarters, and so he was often confined to a wheelchair. When Violet and Klaus visited him he asked of the success of their mission, to which Violet gave the same cautious replies that Lemony had given to Dewey Denouement earlier in the evening. She told her father that they hadn't managed to rescue her mother and Sunny, and that Jacques Snicket was "no longer with her", making sure to give a vague answer in case the news of Jacques' death was still not common knowledge for the volunteers.

Satisfied with the return of his children and their answers to his questions, Bertrand Baudelaire returned to his parental persona and quickly rushed his children off to bed, insisting that they must be tired after their long journey. To tell the truth, Violet and Klaus had little energy left to do anything but agree.

When the Baudelaire siblings rose late the next morning, they found themselves being awoken by Dewey Denouement, who urged the children to get themselves up and ready quickly before ushering the two young volunteers towards the council room, which was a large room located at the centre of the V.F.D. Headquarters. Upon arrival at the council room, Klaus was surprised to the long table that ran along the centre of the room almost completely filled, although almost nobody was speaking a word.

"Take a seat, Baudelaires," Dewey told them quietly, before leaving them to take a seat at the head of the table. Looking along the table, Violet saw volunteers of all ages, many of whom she recognised, although there were many that she didn't. She had expected this, as there were almost constant arrivals and departures of volunteers at the Headquarters. Eventually her eyes set on her father, and she pulled Klaus along with her as she took a free seat next to the only other family member that she had left. Across the table she could see Lemony sitting with his sister Kit in complete silence, his hands in hers, a troubled look upon both their faces. Arlo Thursday was on Lemony's other side, and he gave Violet a reassuring smile as she took her seat at the long table.

There were only a couple more volunteers to arrive after Violet and Klaus before the table was filled completely, and Dewey Denouement rose at the far end of the table to begin a speech.

"Fellow volunteers," Dewey began, in a voice that lacked all of his usual confidence. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Jacques Snicket."

All of a sudden, Violet understood the meaning of the meeting. She reasoned, from the reactions of the volunteers around her, that all the people at the table had known Jacques in some way, and that many had travelled to the mountains that day to pay their respects to a brave, noble man that they had once knew.

"I know that some of you have been lifelong friends with Jacques," Dewey said, giving a nod in the direction of a couple of older volunteers, "and that some of you have only recently become acquainted with him," he added, gesturing towards Violet and Klaus, "but we all knew him in some way, and we all made a difference on his life."

This last part of Dewey's speech unnerved Klaus slightly, as he had made a significant contribution to the plan that proved to be Jacques' last offering to the volunteers, and ultimately caused his death. But before he began to doubt whether he had done the right thing back at Bladeridge Castle, the first of many volunteers stepped up to pay tribute to Jacques Snicket, and Klaus' worries were quickly forgotten.

In turns dozens of people stepped up and talked of how they had known Jacques. Some talked of Jacques the volunteer, and others talked of Jacques the journalist. Some, such as Dewey himself, spoke of Jacques Snicket the friend, and one man in his early twenties spoke of Jacques the chaperone, and appeared deeply moved when he returned to his seat. And so, as the tributes and eulogies continued to pile up, Violet wondered whether she should say something herself. She had known Jacques and despite their working together on such an important mission, Violet was unsure whether she counted Jacques as a friend in the same way as she did the others. She merely saw him as a man who was willing to risk his life for her. For that she respected him immensely, but she was unsure whether she counted him as a friend.

Eventually she made her decision, but before she could speak up, Kit Snicket stood up and talked of the one thing that none of the other volunteers could talk about; Jacques Snicket the brother. Eventually a teary-eyed Kit resigned herself to her seat, her respects paid to her lost brother. The last to take their place to say their respects was Lemony, who was the only person there at the end of it all, just three days before in the torrential rain at Bladeridge Castle.

"Jacques was one of the bravest and most loyal men I ever knew," Lemony began slowly. "He was always loyal to those that he cared about, both in his work for the organisation and outside of it. An honest and selfless man, Jacques always saw the needs of others above his own. He died as he lived, fighting to protect the lives of those he loved. I know that I should consider myself lucky to be one of those few he loved, and that there were times when I took his generous and noble actions for granted. But Jacques was and always will be among the best of us, and I'm sure that even though Jacques may no longer be with us in life, he will be in our minds whenever we carry on his work in our struggle to rid the land of this terrible schism once and for all."

Lemony paused for a few moments with tears in his eyes as applause spread around the council room. As everyone faded to silence once more, he continued.

"I was lucky to be the one there in the end, in those last moments before he passed away. I cannot repeat his final words, as they were meant for me and me alone, but I can tell you all of his dying wishes, so that we can continue his legacy now that he is gone." Lemony paused again for a few moments, trying to compose himself. "Jacques wished for my sister Kit to carry on his work with Dewey, in completing the catalogue of crimes that shall be used to hold the Firestarters to justice. I have already spoken to Kit about this, and she has agreed to play her part for the cause, stepping into the shoes of our late brother."

More applause spread around the room as Lemony composed himself, about to make a larger demand, which was the second of his late brother's wishes.

"The second thing that Jacques asked for right before his death," Lemony began as confidently as he could. "Is that the Baudelaire children should be given the best possible education within V.F.D.. He believes that the Baudelaires have already seen enough misery and misfortune in their short lives, and need to know how to best face whatever troubles lie ahead."

Lemony paused once more before spelling out Jacques' demand.

"Jacques requested that Violet and Klaus Baudelaire should be apprenticed under myself along with Arlo Thursday."

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**(Serious) Author's Note: If you enjoyed this chapter, please review! Constructive criticism will be welcomed :)**

**P.S. I promise to try to make updates more regular. I've been slacking a little, I know.**


	3. Chapter Three

**(Serious) Author's Note: Thanks to (guest) for reviewing the last chapter! :)**

**I've put a lot of effort into writing this chapter, and I feel as though it's one of my better ones. Hopefully you'll all enjoy this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.**

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**Chapter Three**

Klaus was surprised.

The second of Jacques' requests had caused indecision between the volunteers, who could not decide whether to allow Jacques' wish or not.

"No volunteer has ever apprenticed three kids at the same time before," one elderly man said firmly. "I'm not sure it should be allowed."

"Nonsense!" scoffed another woman who Klaus didn't recognise. "If Lemony is capable, then he should be allowed to do so."

"But the Baudelaires haven't completed the first stage of training yet," complained another. Usually, young volunteers had to show that they had completed their basic training by taking a series of tests at the Training Centre before they could be apprenticed to a senior volunteer.

"They don't need to take the tests," Kit Snicket said, speaking up in defence of Violet and Klaus, who both thought that becoming apprenticed to Lemony was a very good thing indeed. "Both Violet and Klaus have survived situations more dangerous than any have faced without any real training. They have already survived the treachery of the world without any of our help."

"That is true," admitted the elderly man who had spoke out earlier against the proposition. "I can understand that Violet is ready to undertake a full apprenticeship. But surely Klaus is too young for such missions?"

"He's no younger than I was when I began my own apprenticeship," Lemony protested. "And this was what Jacques would have wanted. It was his dying wish. All of us here-" Lemony gestures around the table "-knew Jacques well. Surely you all want to respect his decisions, even in death?"

"Maybe so, but it still seems like a risk," says another volunteer, a middle-aged man who seems to be contemplating which side of the argument to support. "I suppose we should let Dewey be the adjudicator," he finished, using a word which meant "judge".

All, heads turned towards the end of the table where Dewey Denouement was sat, he merely shrugged. "I think the decision should be between the Baudelaires and their father," he said slowly. "It's their lives, after all."

Now all eyes turned to the other end of the table, where the three Baudelaires were sat, and both Violet and Klaus were relieved when their father spoke up first.

"I think that my children are old enough to make the decision for themselves," he decided. "I'll put my own opinion forward and say that I think Lemony would be an excellent chaperone, and I would encourage my children to take up his offer, but at the end of the day, it is their decision, and not mine." Bertrand Baudelaire paused for a moment before adding, "I will, however, state that Klaus should not take part in any missions in the near future. He is a researcher, not an agent, and he is too young. Maybe other apprentices take an active role in V.F.D. at such a young age, but most of you know already that I am opposed to such a low age limit for apprentices."

Klaus felt angered that his father wouldn't let him stand with his sister and play a part in the fight against the Firestarters, and so he started to object. "But father-"

"There are no buts, Klaus," his father said with a sad smile, cutting off his son mid-sentence. "This isn't a permanent thing, Klaus, but you are only twelve years old, still a long way from being an adult. Another year or two, and you can play a more active role in our organisation. Violet is, in my opinion, only just old enough to go. Hopefully she won't have to anytime soon, although I fear that that is unlikely. But she's almost fifteen, and an intelligent and resourceful young woman. She'll be able to take care of herself now."

Violet felt honoured by her father's praise, but it only served to anger young Klaus. "And you don't think I can look after myself?" he snapped.

"Not as Violet can," his father began, trying to calm Klaus. "She is more experienced than you are. Not necessarily in the ways of the organisation - the pair of you have been through everything together this autumn - but when it comes to life experience, those two years matter. Violet has had the time to see things that you haven't, Klaus. She is more prepared than you. It isn't your fault, but she is older than you. She is ready to play a part in our struggle before you are."

Klaus appeared frustrated by his father's comments, but the anger faded. "Fine," he said sullenly after a pause, crossing his arms over his chest and learning back in his chair.

"Klaus, you will have plenty to do here," his father said, trying to reassure him further. "Lemony is a researcher himself. He will find you plenty to do, plenty to keep you interested You role in V.F.D. may be less active than Violet's, but your efforts will still mean something to our cause."

"Ok," Klaus replied dismissively, still not convinced. "Apprentice us to Lemony, then."

* * *

The next fortnight in the Mortmain Mountains passed quickly as the Baudelaires settled into a new chapter of their lives. Now that they were apprentices, Violet and Klaus found themselves to be moved out of the dormitories and into their own compartments, being given more responsibility. With Lemony now having to apprentice three young volunteers at once, they both found that they had a lot of free time on their hands. Violet found herself working on an assortment of models to satisfy her inventing mind, and spent much of the fortnight trying to build a scale model of Mount Fraught, as she planned to devise a faster way of travelling to the peak than taking the circuitous route up the mountain paths. She regularly visited her former tutor, an elderly volunteer called C.M. Kornbluth, to show him her ideas, and together they made many improvements to Violet's theories during that fortnight.

Despite his initial reservations, Klaus found himself to be enjoying his new life as an apprentice. He spent most of his tie with his new chaperone, who was busy engaging himself in his work. Away from the dangerous work as a V.F.D. operative, Lemony spent the remainder of his time as a researcher, making sure that the travails of his fellow volunteers were recorded correctly, preserving their stories for future generations. But Lemony had a quick mind, and had taken to spicing up his accounts of the volunteers by writing them as though it was a work of fiction, and had produced several short 'stories' by the time that Klaus had been made his apprentice. That week, Lemony had been working on an book that he called _When Did You See Her Last?, _which Klaus thought was about Lemony's own apprenticeship to V.F.D. when he was younger. Klaus seemed to spend much of the fortnight assisting Lemony is his work, ferrying books and documents between the V.F.D. library and Lemony's private study, where he was completely dedicated to his work.

After those first couple of weeks, Violet and Klaus seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely in their new roles, although things weren't turning out quite as well for the volunteers around them, who were becoming more and more anxious that their side was to lose the schism that divided V.F.D.. But for Violet, Klaus and the small group of volunteers that they had begun to know, November began with a rare cause for celebration in such a desperate time, as Arlo Thursday turned sixteen.

It was quite common for birthday celebrations to be going on somewhere in the V.F.D. Headquarters at any given time due to the number of people living there, and I can say that I've been to quite a few such celebrations myself over the years. Usually they're small affairs, a dozen or so people invited, an afternoon off from work. An exchange of a few gifts, usually a cake of some sort cooked up in the kitchens. Such was the case on the November 7th, when Arlo Thursday turned sixteen.

It was a quiet celebration. A handful of people invited to a meal, the exchange of gifts afterwards, many cheerful greetings given, although sometimes it seemed as though Arlo didn't actually want them. Violet and Klaus were invited, of course, along with Lemony Snicket, his sister Kit and Dewey Denouement, adding in the Baudelaires' father, there were seven of them that day.

Violet and Klaus hadn't know that it was Arlo's birthday until that morning; he had never mentioned it. Having seen other birthday celebrations at the Headquarters, Violet had hoped that Arlo wouldn't take offense to her not getting him a gift, but as Lemony handed over a thick, long coat to his apprentice that seemed perfect for surviving the ordeals of a winter spent in the Mortmain Mountains, she began to feel guilty that she hadn't provided anything herself.

It was that evening when she found him, alone in the V.F.D library, leaning against a bookcase, a book on bungee jumping in his hands. For a moment, Violet was worried that it might turn into another obsession, one that was maybe a step to far. Hang gliding, she could cope with. But bungee jumping? She wasn't sure.

"Hey," she said quietly, trying to grab Arlo's attention. He looked up from the book, giving Violet a strange smile she couldn't fathom.

"Oh, hello Violet," he said, an odd tone to his voice, as though he wasn't completely there. Lost in his thoughts or something, glancing back to his book.

"Look, I'm sorry I couldn't get you anything for your birthday," Violet apologised. Arlo looked up again, and shook his head, still smiling, although it concerned Violet even more. It wasn't sadness that was registering on his face. Not quite. "I had no idea it was today."

"It doesn't matter," Arlo replied, quietly, filing his book back onto one of the shelves. She had his full attention now. "I don't care much for birthdays," he continued.

"Why not?" she asked. To her, any excuse for a celebration was welcome. There wasn't enough time in life to spend it moping around. You might as well be happy while you can.

Arlo looked at her and sighed, as though he was about to begin a very long explanation. "I've never liked birthdays," he began. "They remind me too much of my childhood. Of home, and of mother. I never knew her like you know your mother, Violet. She was gone before I'd fully escaped infancy. I was just four years old when she died. Enough to remember her face, her voice, her mannerisms. Beyond that, I know nothing of her." He paused a moment, tears starting to form in his sea green eyes, and Violet reached out to grasp his had with hers, trying to offer Arlo support in any way she could. Of course, having not lived through Arlo's life, she had no way of knowing what to say to him as he continued his explanation.

"I hate all family celebrations," Arlo continued sadly. "Christmas. Birthdays. Whatever. They make me think about what I once had. What was taken away from me by V.F.D. and the schism that divides us. What might have been, had things been different." Arlo reached down with his free hand and pulled a small sheet of paper from his trouser pocket.

"Look at this," he said, holding the piece of paper up so that Violet could read what was written on it. "It's a letter from dad and Anna. From home. It arrived a couple of days early, but I only read it this morning." Sure enough, Violet could read the words printed there. Nothing much, just a few lines wishing Arlo a happy birthday and asking about life at the V.F.D. Headquarters. "You know, it made me think," Arlo continued, folding up the paper once more and returning it to his pocket. "It made me think that maybe I've done the wrong thing. That I should have stayed away from V.F.D." He paused again, looking Violet straight in the eyes as he tried to get across his feelings to her.

"My mother's life was taken away by being a part of this, and I often wonder whether I'll end up going the same way that she did. All around me here in the mountains, there are reminders of her. In everything I do here. She would have once done the same thing in her youth. Violet, I've told you before that I don't want to know what happened to my mother. As little as I do know of her, what I remember are happy memories, of times before my life was tainted by the world's treachery. I'm certain that within this library lie all the unknowns surrounding her past. Somewhere they must lie hidden. It's as though the books themselves are calling to me. As much as I tell myself that I don't want to know, it's taking all my energy to restrain myself from searching for the answers."

Violet took a step towards Arlo and hugged him, wrapping her arms tightly around his sturdy figure, standing on tip-toes to rest her chin on his shoulder. Arlo sighed and weakly hugged her back, which worried Violet even more. He was usually so strong, so confident. Here in the mountains, he was struggling.

"Sometimes, I think that I should go back home and forget about all this," Arlo admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "Start a new life, alone and reclusive in the Verdant Valley, with my father and sister. That it was a mistake to get involved when you arrived at my home this summer. But after all that we've been through, I know that I can't go back. Not now. We're deep enough in that we have no choice but to see this through, ending in one of two ways. We can survive the schism, defeat the villainous Firestarters and make a new life for ourselves in a world safe from the current evils that surround us. I refuse to accept the alternative."

Violet held on to Arlo even tighter, knowing full well what he was implying, and knowing herself that he was right. They had to see this through, or they would die in the process.

"It's not all bad here," Arlo admitted. "In fact, I enjoy myself here. There's plenty to do, and plenty of interesting people to meet. I can go gliding. I can work on inventions. And I get to see Lemony and Klaus and... and you. But while I'm here, I'm constantly reminded of my mother's fate, and I can't help wondering if you or I will end up the same way." Arlo paused for a moment, laughing slightly. "It's enough to send a guy insane."

Without thinking, Violet looked up at Arlo and kissed him. It was only a for a brief, fleeting moment, but when Violet pulled away, she saw Arlo smiling, properly smiling, for the first time that evening. "Happy birthday, Arlo," she said, laughing quietly as she reached up to kiss him again, more meaningfully this time. Unlike before, Arlo started to kiss back, pulling Violet even closer in towards him, before losing his balance and crashing backwards into the bookcase behind him, Violet still in his arms, struggling to suppress a giggle. In that moment, it seemed to Violet that all the troubles in the world were gone, that Jacques wasn't dead, that her mother and sister weren't in the clutches of the Firestarters, that the sinister schism simply did not exist. She did not know how long it would last, but on that evening she was safe, safe in Arlo's arms, his free hand caressing her long dark brown hair that fall untidily around her, her lips firmly pressed against his. Somehow Arlo slipped again - something was making him unsteady - and contact was broken for a moment, and Violet tried to crane her neck around to reach him once more, if only she could just-

"Violet! Arlo!"

It was Klaus, calling for them through the library. Violet sprung away from Arlo almost instantaneously, laughing nervously, her arms folded across her chest, blushing slightly. Glancing up the aisle, she and Arlo were still alone. "Violet!" Klaus called again, slightly more desperately.

"What is it?" Violet called as a way of a reply, despite knowing full well that it was rude to shout in a library. The V.F.D. library was massive, and she knew that it could take hours to find someone unless they spoke out, so Violet felt as though she would be excused for shouting.

"There's been a new arrival," Klaus called again, and Violet wondered what was so special about the arrival of another volunteer. At the Headquarters, people were coming and going all the time. "They've got news of mother and Sunny!" Klaus called excitedly, and Violet sighed. It wasn't that she thought it was bad news, not by a long shot. But just as Arlo had said, they could no longer sit back and wait for the other volunteers to solve their problems.

"I guess we'd better go," Arlo said quietly, giving Violet's hand a reassuring squeeze, even though the time for affection had passed. Violet smiled weakly back at him, hoping that maybe this was the beginning of the end, that this could be the first piece of the puzzle that manages to find its own place in the picture. She hoped that maybe with the help of Klaus, Lemony, Arlo and the other volunteers, everything might eventually turn out all right.

* * *

**(Serious) Author's Note: If you enjoyed this chapter, please review! Constructive criticism is, as ever, welcomed :)**


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Violet was anxious.

Yet again, she found herself at the long table in the council room at the V.F.D. Headquarters, surrounded by concerned-looking volunteers. Every other time she had found herself in this situation, bad news had followed. Having heard from Klaus that there was information about her mother and Sunny, Violet feared the worst. Looking around the table there were far fewer volunteers than there had been a fortnight before, and Kit Snicket sat at the head of the tale in the place of Dewey, although she didn't seem to be organising a meeting herself. She was deep in conversation with her brother, who sat on her right, her brow furrowed in conversation, as though troubled by something. This did nothing to help Violet's nerves, and she was only partly calmed when Arlo gave her hand a reassuring squeeze under the table.

Finally, it seemed as though everyone important had arrived, and the meeting began. Thankfully, both Violet and Klaus (who were impatient to hear news of their lost family members) could see that Kit Snicket wasn't going to waste time with unimportant matters, and cut straight to the point when she stood up to speak.

"An agent of ours in the city has informed us that he has suspects Count Olaf to be behind various suspicious events in the area. Knowing him to have Beatrice and Sunny Baudelaire in his custody, we believe that the pair are likely to be hidden in a safe house somewhere in the city."

The city, Klaus thought. He had not been back to the city since the day that his family home had burned down. It had only been four months, but his happy, untroubled life in the city felt as though it was years ago. Around the table, the new information caused a mixed reaction, as though the volunteers were unsure what to do about the situation.

"We should prepare a mission to rescue them!" One young man exclaimed. "We should begin the search straightaway!"

"No," argued another, older volunteer. "We've already lost too many in trying to keep the Baudelaires safe. A more cautious approach must be used."

"Yes!" agreed another, and Violet felt her heart sinking. It seemed as though, after the events at Bladeridge Castle, the volunteers were too worried to do anything.

"We have to do something!" Violet burst out, angry at the negligence of the people who were supposed to be on her side. "We can't just leave them with him! Isn't there anything we can do?" she pleaded, causing Kit to raise her eyebrows, feeling shocked into action.

"Hmm," she said, as one often does when they try to stall for time, allowing themselves a moment to think. "I suppose we can keep Olaf under surveillance. If we have actual proof that he's in the city, of course. I should probably let our agents in the city know to keep up the search for him."

It wasn't much, but it was a step in the right direction. "Can't we take actual action?" Klaus asked impatiently.

"Not yet," Lemony replied frustratedly from the end of the table, speaking up for the first time in the meeting. "I know that you see the matter as important, and believe me when I say that all of us here are very concerned about Beatrice and Sunny's safety, but we cannot act without sound information," he explained, and many volunteers around the table nodded solemnly in agreement.

"In fact, there is a way of us taking action," Kit explained. "Albeit for a slightly different motive. I'm sure you all know that lately, our plight has been struggling. The Firestarters have been destroying our safe places, removing evidence of their crimes, even killing many of our most valuable agents. In our current state, V.F.D. will be lucky to survive the winter. We are spread too thin to survive the threat of the Firestarters. That is why I'm suggesting a new tactic - to gather up all important members of our organisation and keep them all safe and isolated here at the Headquarters, where they will be invulnerable to the Firestarters' attacks."

"Sounds like a decent plan," agreed Frank Denouement, Dewey's identical brother.

"Hear, hear," said a female voice that Violet couldn't place.

"I suppose we should take some action for once, then," Kit said, giving Violet an odd look that strangely calmed her. "Kornbluth, send out a Volunteer Factual Dispatch to all volunteers, advising them to return to the Mortmain Mountains for their own safety. We need all of our members to be aware of our schemes."

Mr. Kornbluth, Violet's inventing tutor and general technology expert, nodded in agreement with kit's orders, but raised a valid point. "What if some volunteers don't receive the Volunteer Factual Dispatch?" he asked.

"All of our trusted members regularly check for any telegrams from the Headquarters," Kit explained. "They will know. As for part-time members or former agents who won't receive the telegram, we can survive without most of them. However, there are a select few that we will still need to contact, and I propose that we should send out several teams to bring back those few crucial volunteers back to the V.F.D. Headquarters themselves." Kit paused for a moment, looking around the table at all the eager faces. "Dr. Montgomery," Kit said, pointing towards a middle-aged man best known for being a world-renowned herpetologist, which is a word to describe a man who studies snakes. "You need to travel east to Lake Lachrymose, to bring Josephine Anwhistle back to our cause." Montgomery merely nodded to show consent.

"Frank," Kit said, pointing once more at Dewey's twin brother. "Travel south to the Hotel Denouement," she ordered. "From there, you must contact Captain Widdershins, and tell him to bring the _Queequeg_ north to safer waters immediately." Again, Frank merely nodded to show recognition of his task.

"And Lemony," Kit said, turning to her younger brother. "You need to travel south to the city with your apprentices, Arlo and Violet," she instructed.

"To search for mother and Sunny?" Violet asked hopefully.

Kit looked at her sternly and slightly confused before replying. "No," she said. "We need you to locate Peter Quagmire, a former associate of mine, and a close friend of my late brother Jacques. His research skills are needed for our cause. You must locate him and bring him back north to the Mortmain Mountains with you, before any misfortune befalls either him or his family."

* * *

It took a lot of explaining Lemony Snicket and Bertrand Baudelaire to get Klaus to accept that his fellow apprentices were going off on a mission without him. Even though the situation had already been explained to him before, he still sought further confirmation for everything. He had no idea how long Lemony, Violet and Arlo were leaving for, and after the events of the summer, he wanted to spend as much time with his sibling as possible. Despite knowing that Violet was in safe hands with Lemony and Arlo, it took a lot of convincing for him to realise that nothing would happen to Violet on this quick trip to the city.

Still, when the time came, Klaus found it hard to let his sister go, even though she promised a speedy return to the Headquarters as she clambered into the back of Lemony's small car with Arlo. His father and Dewey had been there with him to say the goodbyes, and for Bertrand the experience had been just as painful as it had been for his son as he watched the car disappear into the mountain valleys.

For Violet and Arlo in the back of Lemony's car, the mood was not so melancholy - where "melancholy" here means "sad" - but was more intense somehow, as both young volunteers had the feeling as though they had to get on with business. As though this mission really mattered, even though it may not have been quite as important as the failed rescue attempt of the previous month. Thinking about this, Violet began to wonder when the volunteers would next have a chance to rescue her family members. It seemed to her that the longer the volunteers left it before making new plans of action, the more time Count Olaf would have to keep them from the volunteers' grasp. It seemed to her that she was fighting yet another losing battle.

Eventually, as the small car passed out of the Mortmain Mountains that afternoon, Violet spoke up.

"Do you think we'll ever get mother and Sunny back?" she asked Lemony, perhaps slightly more bluntly than she had originally intended, to which her chaperone sighed.

"I don't know, Violet," he admitted. "I'd like to think so, and there is still a good chance that we will, but in all honesty, Olaf and his accomplices always seem to be one step ahead. And even if we do defeat Olaf and his henchmen, the battle is not over yet. There are all numbers of strong adversaries within the ranks of the Firestarters."

"Do you think, with us being in the city, that we might see something useful on this mission?" she asked Lemony.

"I don't know," he shrugged, which didn't help Violet's confidence much, either. "Possibly. I suppose there's a chance. But the city is a very large place, and all we have confirming Olaf's whereabouts are the suspicions of our fellow agents. So really, we have no confirmation of Olaf's hiding place. Merely suggestions. Don't get your hopes up, Violet. And don't deviate from the mission. We're here to bring Peter Quagmire back with us to the V.F.D. Headquarters, not to go searching for your family, no matter how much you or I might want to."

Violet, who had been somewhat disheartened by Lemony's lecture, had one last chance at drawing some optimism from her mentor. "Do you think Olaf will eventually reveal his location to us as he did last time?" she asked, but she could see almost instantly that Lemony was shaking his head.

"I really doubt it, Violet," he said sadly. "Last time, he only revealed his location so that he could bargain with us over the sugar bowl." This reminded Violet of the reason why Beatrice and Sunny were captives; so that Count Olaf could secure an elusive object called the sugar bowl for the Firestarters. Violet knew little of the object, as she had never seen it and elder volunteers would tell her little about it, but Lemony had told her that the contents of the sugar bowl would be able to sway the course of the schism dramatically, and that the sugar bowl must never fall into the hands of the Firestarters.

"After the way that we played him for a fool at Bladeridge Castle, I doubt he'll try and negotiate with us again," Lemony admitted glumly. "He'll probably just take what he's after by force, and do what he pleases with Beatrice and Sunny."

After that, Violet gave up on talking to Lemony, worried that he would strip her of whatever hope she had left. However, she knew that Lemony was still struggling somewhat to cope with the loss of his brother, and she had often seen him become pessimistic on long days as he was on that November afternoon travelling south. She knew that, in these moods, not to take him all too seriously, although she was fully aware that what Lemony had said, if somewhat exaggerated, was still the truth.

By the time that the three stopped that night in the southern Hinterlands to set up camp, Violet's mood had improved, thanks to Arlo's reassurance that with all the expertise of the volunteers, someone must knew how to get Beatrice and Sunny back. However, Violet still knew that whoever must know that answers had not yet cared to enlighten any of their fellow volunteers about whatever plan had sprung into their mind. As far as Violet was aware, she was completely in the dark as to the safety of her family members.

The following morning, the sky had clouded over and Violet saw rain for the first time in almost three weeks, having returned to the temperate latitudes south of the mountains. The second leg of the journey was far shorter than the first and, owing to the early start, the three volunteers found themselves in the suburbs of the city by mid-day.

For Violet, it was strange to return to the city, where everything looked permanent, untouched by the secret war that split a desperate organisation. To her, the city looked just as it did on the day of the fire that burned down her home, but despite what it looked like, it no longer felt like home to Violet. The city may have remained constant, but Violet had changed dramatically. Four months before she had never met either of her travelling companions, and would have been as clueless as any other person as to what V.F.D. stood for. But now she was in the thick of it, and as Lemony's car drove down streets that Violet knew, she realised just how much she had changed. She was still Violet Baudelaire, a passionate inventor, but she was no longer naïve, protected from the world and inexperienced in its ways. Now she was a volunteer; a young woman with a purpose, a goal, a destination. Maybe she had found herself in dire circumstances, but there was no doubting that she had been given a great opportunity during the summer. It had never felt like it until now, but maybe it could be a blessing in disguise. Maybe joining V.F.D. would prove to be the best decision of her life? Or maybe not. But only time would tell, and as Violet looked out of the window at parts of the city that she recognised - the finance district, the shopping district, the university district - she was reminded of her childhood in the city. So much had happened to her since the summer that she felt as though the memories belonged to another person; a different Violet Baudelaire. One way or anther, she began to realise deep down for the first time that there was no way back to the life that she once led, no matter how hard the volunteers and herself might try. The summer had changed her permanently. Somewhere along the way, Violet had stopped being a child and started being a young woman, independent and responsible for her own actions.

It was around lunchtime when their journey reached its end, when Lemony's car arrived in a neighbourhood not too far from where Violet had lived previously, where the houses were just as expensive as her parents' had been. Along quiet roads where the houses had large, lush gardens spread out before them, expensive cars parked on the drive. Rich, well-off families lived here; the upper-middle classes, just as Violet had once lived herself. She wondered for the first time what sort of person Peter Quagmire might be, and what he did to let him afford a life of relative luxury.

Eventually, Lemony pulled up his car at the side of the road by a large house that made Violet feel reminded of her old home. She thought that it was slightly smaller than the Baudelaire Mansion, but it had been built from the same red bricks - presumably at the same time - and had a similar architectural style. The lawns at the front of the house were well-kept, and there were two large cars parked on the drive. Even in the November rain, Violet couldn't deny that the house looked impressive.

Lemony turned off the engine of his car, slipped his coat on over his shoulders, swung open the door and stepped outside.

"The Quagmire Mansion," he announced grandly, and then set off down the drive towards the house.

* * *

**(Serious) Author's Note: If you enjoyed this chapter, please review! Constructive criticism is welcomed :)**

**P.S. I'm sure you can all guess who's going to be making their first appearances in the series in the next chapter... ;)**


	5. Chapter Five

**(Serious) Author's Note: Thanks to (guest) and another (guest) for reviewing, along with koryandrs.**

**Anyway, back to today's chapter. I think this one could be one of the most important in the series so far, as some of the characters introduced here will stay with us through the remainder of the series.**

**I hope that you all enjoy the chapter, even if it has taken a little longer to be written than many of its predecessors. I've had a very busy month, for which I can only apologise.**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Violet was anxious.

She was standing next to Arlo on the driveway as Lemony Snicket rung the doorbell of the Quagmire Mansion.

"Nice house," Lemony said, admiring the architecture, and Violet couldn't help but agree. She hoped that a person who had spent so long taking care of their property would be kind and understanding of their situation. It was only then, standing on Peter Quagmire's driveway, that she realised how little she knew of Jacques Snicket's former colleague.

Soon she was able to hear footsteps in the hallway of the house, followed by the sound of a key clicking in the metal lock, and finally the wooden door swung open smoothly, just enough for a small boy of around Violet's age with short black hair to stick his head through the gap created, peering out at the three volunteers. "Hello?" he asked them nervously.

"Hello," replied Lemony, smiling at the boy. "Is Peter Quagmire at home?"

The boy didn't say a word for a moment, as if confused by something that Violet could not fathom, and then nodded politely. "I'll go and fetch him for you," the boy said finally, and then he was gone, the door swinging shut behind him. The three volunteers only had to wait outside for a few moments before the boy had returned, now at the side of a man in his forties with similarly dark hair and a look of disbelief at the man who stood at his front door showing in his wide-set eyes.

"Lemony?" he said, almost laughing.

"Peter," Lemony said, mirroring the old volunteer's smile, and offering a hand to shake.

"It's been far too long, my friend," Peter smiled, grasping Lemony's hand and shaking it firmly. "You'd better come in. I take it you are here with purpose?"

"Unfortunately so," Lemony said grimly, unsure how to break the news of Jacques untimely death - along with the threat to the safety of him and his family - to his old friend. As he entered the large entrance hall of the Quagmire Mansion, with its high ceilings and polished wooden floors, he gestured to Violet and Arlo, where were waiting on the doorstep tentatively. "Allow me to introduce my colleagues, Arlo Thursday and Violet Baudelaire." he said grandly, unsure of how much to give away in the presence of Peter's child. The boy, who Violet now thought must almost certainly be thirteen or fourteen, hung close to his parent but gave Violet a timid smile when she saw him watching her, as though he wanted to greet her but wasn't entirely sure how to. Looking down, Peter Quagmire noticed his son's behaviour and tried to nudge him forward towards the guests, and the boy did so reluctantly.

"This is my son, Duncan," Peter explained, and Duncan looked up once more, smiling weakly at both young volunteers.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Duncan said politely, looking at both Violet and Arlo in turn, causing Violet to mirror his smile while Arlo remained more indifferent to the boy, a phrase which can be used here to describe how he barely seemed to acknowledge the boy's greeting.

"Why don't you two run along with young Duncan?" Lemony suggested to his apprentices, pretending not to notice as Arlo glared at him. "We adults need to talk."

"Ah, of course!" Peter said, attempting to sound cheerful but the concern was all too apparent in his voice. "Follow me right this way..."

Peter opened a thick wooden door into what Violet believed to be the kitchen and gestured for Lemony to follow him inside before pushing the door closed, where it sellers with a satisfying _click!_ leaving the three children alone.

"Well, I suppose you'd better come with me," the boy called Duncan said, and now that Violet could see him better she could see that he was a boy of roughly her height, with short dark brown hair and wide-set eyes. He was dressed in a thick black sweater that made his pale skin stand out against its surroundings. "Before you arrived, my siblings and I were upstairs in the library. I'll take you to meet them," Duncan continued, leading Violet and Arlo up a flight of grand wooden stairs that reminded the eldest Baudelaire of her own home, of which little more than a pile of ashes remained. As they walked, Duncan began to seem more outgoing, asking questions of the newcomers.

"Who was that man that you arrived with?" he asked Violet as they reached the top of the stairs and turned right onto a long corridor.

"That man was Lemony Snicket," Violet explained. "He's an associate of ours."

"Then how does he know my father?"

"I believe they were friends a long time ago," Violet answered vaguely. She did not know how much information about V.F.D. she should reveal to this fourteen-year-old boy. If the Quagmire family were much like her own - and her experiences so far had led her to believe so - then Duncan Quagmire might not even know of V.F.D.'s existence.

"Are you related to him, then?" Duncan asked once more, reminding Violet of a time when she knew nothing of Lemony or the organisation which now dictates her life, just four long months before.

"No, we're not related to him," Violet explained. "Arlo and I are his colleagues."

"Colleagues?" Duncan said, raising an eyebrow over one of his wide brown eyes. "Surely you're not old enough to work? You look barely a year older than me..."

"I'm almost fifteen," Violet began, but Arlo interrupted her.

"We are apprentices, training to work as Lemony does, although so far our roles have been far more administrational that we would have hoped," Arlo told Duncan, which was a half-truth. "Currently, we serve to make Lemony's job easier, rather than get involved in his work himself." Lemony's eldest apprentice was being careful to make sure that he wasn't giving away anything about the nature of his organisation, even though he knew a lot more than he was admitting to, although Violet's reaction seemed to suggest something else.

"I'm not sure I believe you," Duncan told Arlo testily, but his expression softened towards Violet as he gazed in her direction after stopping at the end of the hallway. "But anyway, we're here. This is the library." And with that, Duncan Quagmire opened another sturdy wooden door and stepped inside.

The Quagmire library was an extensive one, and Violet was instantly reminded of the library in the Baudelaire home. She had never spent as much time in the library as her brother, but she had loved it nonetheless and for a moment the only emotion forthcoming to her as she stepped into the room was grief. But like all things, the moment passed, and Violet began to look around the room in wonder. The room was large; possibly ten metres in length. On three walls, there were bookshelves reaching from the floor to the ceiling, and the fourth wall was covered in large windows adorned with rich red curtains, through which the golden sunlight of the early afternoon was shining, now that the rain had passed. Within the room there was a large wooden table tat covered much of the central floorspace, at which stood a boy who appeared identical to Duncan in all ways but that he was wearing a navy blue sweater, who was poring over some charts strewn across the table. At the far end of the room was a group of chairs surrounding a coffee table that formed a comfortable reading area. In one of the chairs was a young girl who seemed (excluding her gender, of course) almost identical to her brothers. She had a large, black-covered book straddled across her knees and was scribbling furiously in a dark green notebook, that Violet recognised to be identical (excluding colour) to her commonplace book, which made her doubt her presumptions about the family. As Violet and Arlo followed Duncan into the room, both young people looked up at the visitors.

"Siblings," Duncan Quagmire announced rather formally. "These young people are Violet Baudelaire and Arlo Thursday."

Both Quagmire siblings looked up from their work to welcome the newcomers. The boy, who looked almost identical to Duncan, gave a warm smile that made Violet feel welcomed in the Quagmire home, and while his sister gave a welcoming smile, it clashed with a frown that appeared almost unfathomable.

"Baudelaire?" The girl asked, placing her notebook down on the coffee table next to a mug of hot chocolate and walking towards the two volunteers. Violet noticed that she was wearing a blouse the same colour as her notebook. "Are you of any relation to the Baudelaire family who lost their lives when their mansion was razed to the ground this summer?"

For a moment, Violet froze. It had not occured to her that such a notable point in her own life might have been noticed by others. After such a hurried disappearance from the city that day - the day her father suffered a terrible injury caused by a harpoon - why wouldn't anyone think that the Baudelaires had perished that day? They had vanished without a trace. But this wasn't what was bothering Violet. What was bothering her was that she realised just how close her family and herself had come to becoming fatalities that summer. His father had knocked on death's door - an expression used to describe someone nearing death - after the altercation with Count Olaf on the day that the Baudelaire Mansion had burned down. Violet had survived a helicopter crash, and had survived travelling through the Hinterlands with nothing but her younger brother for company. Klaus had survived being captured and interrogated by the Firestarters and one of their most dangerous agents, a man with a beard but no hair. And Violet's mother and baby sister were still in the clutches of the notorious Count Olaf, and could be facing death at any moment. But before she could worry about her family, she had a job to do.

"I'm afraid you might be mistaken," Violet told Duncan's sister cautiously. "Nobody died in the fire, and I should know. That was my home."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," said the other boy, who looked so like Duncan, and Violet thought that he genuinely meant it, despite him only knowing her for a couple of minutes. "And besides," he said. "You heard that from a newspaper article in _The Daily Punctilio_. Isadora, If you've learnt anything from listening to Duncan over the years, then you should know that _The Daily Punctilio_ only ever tells half of the story. They said that the fire was arson." His sister - Isadora - nodded once to acknowledge her mistake, and her brother turned back towards Violet and Arlo. "Duncan is very interested in journalism, you see," the boy told the two young volunteers. "He hopes to become a reporter when he is older. That's why he spends so long reading the papers. And he's spent long enough to know not to trust _The Daily Punctilio_."

"Anyway, I suppose I should get on with the introductions," Duncan said quickly, cuttin off his brother, trying to make up for skipping past one of the most important parts of any conversation. "Violet, Arlo, please meet my siblings, Isadora and Quigley." Both smiled politely, and Quigley - who seemed to be Duncan's identical twin or something (or so Violet thought) - came forward to shake both of the newcomers' hands. "Siblings," Duncan added. "I have already told you who Violet and Arlo are, but not what they are doing here. To to tell the truth, I don't really know myself."

"I'll tell you what," Violet suggested, looking at Arlo for reassurance, but nothing was forthcoming. "Why don't we all take a seat, and I'll explain as much as I can." Isadora led the five children over towards the chairs in the corner of the room, where they sat down in the plush chairs around the coffee table.

"I suppose I'd better start from the start," Violet said, glancing at Arlo for confirmation, who now gave an almost indiscernible nod. He was being unusually quiet that evening at the Quagmire Mansion. Smiling, Violet began her tale. "We are here because of a man called Lemony Snicket," she explained.

"Who's he?" Quigley asked.

Violet thought on her feet, a phrase which here means "came up with a lie while under pressure." This wasn't a problem, as Violet could invent an excuse just as easily as she could invent a grappling hook from the burning wreckage of a helicopter and they guy ropes of Arlo Thursday's tent. "He's a writer," Violet answered, which was a half-truth. She could remember Klaus being rather excited by his narratives of his time working with V.F.D.

"What does he write?" Isadora asked her.

"It's strange," Violet explained nervously. "He writes about true stories, but as though he's writing a children's book. It's rather unique, really."

"It sounds fascinating," Duncan said, and Violet nodded.

"My younger brother certainly thought so," she continued, smiling. "Klaus is an avid reader, and he loves them."

"What literary genres does he read?" Isadora asked eagerly, leaning forward in her chair.

"Oh, anything and everything," Violet shrugged. "I'm not always paying attention to his literary tastes, but I'm sure that they're rather varied."

"Does her read poetry?" Isadora asked again, but Duncan soon spoke over her.

"My sister is only asking," Duncan explained, "because she has an interest in poetry herself. In fact, she writes in her spare time," he said, causing Isadora to blush, and for Arlo to raise an inquisitive eyebrow, although it was difficult to spot beneath his wild hair.

"You should read some of your work to them," Quigley suggested, and Isadora blushed once more.

"Oh, go on," Violet pleaded. "If my brother was here, I'm sure he'd love to hear some poetry."

"I'm sorry to interject," Arlo said, using a fancy word for "interrupt", "but weren't we discussing Lemony Snicket?"

"Indeed," Violet said disappointedly, but continued her tale. "We're here to assist Lemony, as we are apprenticed to him, but as mere apprentices we know little of his actual work. All we know of his association with your father is that they are old, old friends."

"I wonder why father has never mentioned a Lemony Snicket to us before," mused Quigley.

"He did once mention a Jacques Snicket to us," Duncan said thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed across his chest. "Is Lemony related to Jacques?"

"They are brothers," Violet replied, deliberately avoiding to mention that Jacques had died a few weeks before at the hands of Count Olaf, as that would require a whole other explanation, and Violet had neither the time nor the inclination - where "inclination" here means "energy" - to explain the whole story to the Quagmire siblings. "I believe that Jacques was good friends with your father, too."

The Quagmires nodded simultaneously, and then reverted the conversation to talking about the man in conversation with their father downstairs. "You say that you know little about Lemony's job," Isadora said inquisitively. "Is there anything you're not telling us?" she asked.

"No," Violet said bluntly, refusing to say anything else on the matter. It was not the truth, but it would do. She did not want to say more. Even though she knew that the Quagmires were three friendly - albeit a little curious - children, she felt as if she was being interrogated.

Despite how Violet was feeling, it seemed that the Quagmire siblings' appetite was not set satisfied as they continued to ask about their guests, as though they had never had guests before and wanted to know much about such a strange type of person that wanted to visit others before it disappeared to wherever it had come from. This of course, is complete nonsense, as the Quagmire household had had plenty of visitors over the years, but it did not feel like that to Violet on that November afternoon. "Well, maybe lemony may be a mystery," Quigley said conclusively. "But we can still find out about you two. We've heard from you already, Violet, but your colleague has barely spoken a word."

it was true, and Arlo sighed as he leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. "You don't want to know about my past," he said bluntly.

"On the contrary, we do," Duncan explained. "Unlike Violet, your accent suggests that you're not from round here. Tell me, Arlo, where are you from?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Arlo laughed.

"Go on, then. Tell us."

"I've grown up in the Verdant Valley," Arlo replied calmly, and Violet was surprised at first that Arlo had answered honestly, but soon understood her friend's motives once she saw the Quagmire siblings' reactions. Duncan and Isadora looked at each other forlornly, shrugging, and then both turned to look at Quigley, whose brow was furrowed in thought.

"Give me a moment to think," he told his siblings, sensing them watching him.

"Quigley is an aspiring amateur cartographer," Duncan told the two volunteers. "He's probably trying to remember something he had learnt from one of his charts."

"What's a cartographer?" Violet asked, wishing that Klaus was with her. Having read so many books, Klaus' vocabulary was better than that of most adults, despite his tender age. Luckily for Violet, Arlo's vocabulary was also strong, although she knew that this was more due to how long he spent with Lemony than anything else.

"A cartographer," Arlo told Violet, "is someone who studies and draws maps and charts."

Quigley smiled at the volunteers, and although Violet mirrored it, Arlo was less accommodating. "I remember spotting the Verdant Valley on one of my charts not long ago," he said. "There was something unique about them, but I can't remember what. Let me have a look," he said, standing up from his chair to walk over to the large wooden table in the centre of the room. Once there, he cleared his books from it and pulled open a drawer beneath it, pulling out a large roll of paper than he unrolled across the polished wooden surface of the table. It almost covered the whole surface of the table, and it had grown so used to being rolled up that Quigley had to weigh it down with heavy books in each of the four corners. Then, as everyone gathered around the table, Violet could see what he had uncovered.

It was a map of the country, documenting the landscape in incredible detail, over twenty feet in length and at least ten wide. Violet stared in amazement as the landscape took shape in front of her, from the Finite Forest in the west to Lake Lachrymose in the east, and from the Mortmain Mountains in the north to the city that had been her home in the south. But Quigley was looking at none of these places; his wide brown eyes were staring at the blank white scar that seemed to split the map in half; the eventless landscape of the Hinterlands. Well, almost eventless, at least. One shape was discernible - the word "discernible" here means "able to be identified" - within the Hinterlands. It was labelled _V.V._, and Violet could see that it was the Verdant Valley.

"The Verdant Valley is a strange place," explained Quigley, as the map had apparently jogged his memory. "So perfect, so fertile, so safe, yet so far from civilisation, surrounded by the desolate Hinterlands in all directions." Quigley looked up to stare at Arlo. "I find it hard to see how you would manage to grow up in the Verdant Valley," he told Arlo. "The land may be good, but there wouldn't be a man-made structure within fifty miles." It was as though Quigley was suspecting Arlo of being a liar, which Violet thought would set off the short fuse of her friend's temper, but Arlo Thursday merely nodded slowly, smiling secretly to himself.

And then Violet understood.

Quigley Quagmire had said that there was no structure within fifty miles of the Verdant Valley, which meant that he didn't know of the existence of the V.F.D. base in the valley, run by Arlo's father, Daniel Thursday. So, judging by that, she could presume that despite what small snippets of information the Quagmire siblings may know, they knew nothing of the existence of V.F.D. Looking around the library, Violet was reminded once more of how similar the Quagmire Mansion was to her old home, and it made her think if she knew similar snippets of information even if she didn't know that she knew them, if you know what I mean. The Quagmires were in a position that the eldest Baudelaire could still remember clearly, even though her old life seemed much further away than it actually was.

It seemed to Violet that the Quagmires were happy yet oblivious to the series of unfortunates events that were about to befall upon them.

* * *

**(Serious) Author's Note: If you enjoyed this chapter, please review! As ever, constructive criticism is welcomed :)**

**I'd also like to say that I'm hoping to get a few more chapters posted this week, so that this story can be completed by early November :)**

**P.S. Has anyone else ready Lemony Snicket's latest literary offering, _When Did You See Her Last?_ If so, I've got a couple of uncertainties concerning presumptions and theories that I'm being led towards, and I'm interest to see what everyone else has made of certain points. PM me if interested in just having a chat about all things Snicket, or just to put my mind at rest concerning various ideas that have been floating around my mind since finishing Daniel Handler's latest offering last night. I have to say, some books never fail to make me think.**


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